Have you ever had any brushes with celebrities? I’ve had a few. About fifteen years ago I was doing some last minute shopping the week before Christmas. I was in Academy looking at something when this fellow bumped into me. He was wearing a camo jacket and cap and had a scraggly beard – nothing about him made him stand out from anyone else in the store. He said, “Excuse me!” and I told him it was fine and he kept going. Then I noticed that a few people were following this guy around, whispering about him, then stopping him to shake his hand. I didn’t know who he was, so I finished my shopping and went to check out. I noticed this guy at another register. There was a little short blonde lady standing next to him. She was wearing a heavy jacket and ball cap with her pony tail sticking out of the back of that cap.  Everyone in the store was looking and pointing, including the young lady working the cash register in my lane. So I asked her, “Who is that guy?” She gave me a look of disbelief. “You don’t know?”  “No, I don’t.”  “That’s Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert.” I said, “Okay. Who’s that?”  The look of shock on her face was even more pronounced. “They’re singers. Country Singers.” I said, “I’ll take your word for it.”  At the time, they had just started to become well known, and this was before they were married – and then divorced – but I didn’t know who they were. If I had known, I might have reacted differently. The young lady working my register thought I should have known them. To those who knew who these folks were, it was a huge deal. In fact, when I was putting my purchases in my vehicle, they walked past me again, but I still didn’t recognize them.  Some people would have loved to have been in my place, but it didn’t mean anything at all to me. I just got in my car and drove home.  When I told my kids about it, they were as incredulous as that cashier that I did not know who those people were.

How many times have you had a brush with celebrities and not even known it?

During this Christmas season, we should understand that a lot of people still don’t know who Jesus is. We know who He is and we know that He is a big deal. But not everyone knows what we know. They are like I was in that sporting goods store, clueless to the celebrity walking right past me.

Much of the world asks, “Who is this guy?” And even after being told “It is Jesus” they still have no idea what that means or who He truly is. A lot of folks hear the name “Jesus” and think He was a good guy and a great philosopher. Others think He was a scam artist and a charlatan. They have not yet been informed about His true identity. They just don’t know. A Christmas Hymn asks a great question: “What Child is This?”  It is good to reflect upon and remember WHAT CHILD THIS IS so that we will appreciate God’s gift to us even more and we will be better prepared to share Him with others.

Everyone has to be told who Jesus is at some point.

• The angel Gabriel went to Mary to tell her that she would be the mother of the Son of God, and she was more than a little taken aback by that announcement. (Luke 1:26-38)
• Joseph also had to be told who Jesus was by the Angel (Matthew 1:18-25). When he discovered Mary was pregnant and knew it was not his kid, he was ready to get rid of her. But the angel assured him it was God’s Son who would save everyone from their sins.
• When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, shepherds were also told by the heavenly hosts. They went to see for themselves this thing that had come to pass.

I wonder how many people walked by the stable that night, saw the commotion with a new baby and all those shepherds, wondered what was happening, but just shrugged and kept going. They had no idea who it was or why it was a big deal. They were as clueless as I was in that encounter with those Country Music artists. And how many people today are still clueless as to who Jesus is? What Child is This?

When Jesus came to earth—the most glorious event in history—he was largely ignored by the world. Caesar Augustus was too busy counting heads in his census to notice. There was no room for God’s arrival in town, so he was born in a livestock barn. As soon as King Herod heard that another king was born, he set out to exterminate him. They did not understand who He was.

Let me tell you who He is. This, this is Christ the King…the Babe, the Son of Mary.  God Himself … the Word made Flesh … who would one day bear the cross … for me … for you. This is God’s answer to the problem of sin.

The story of God becoming flesh to visit the Earth was ignored, neglected, rejected, and despised. Then the greatest irony of all history occurred: The Creator who took on our flesh was stripped, beaten, and executed at the hands of his own people. Yet even crucifixion could not destroy God or his love for us. He rose from the dead. He lives and he reigns! He reigns in glory! And it is in God’s self-sacrifice at the cross and empty tomb that we behold his glory most fully.

The question is whether or not we see it. People who don’t understand who Jesus is or what He has done still know that Christmas has something to do with His being born. They just don’t understand What Child This Is! Too many walk by in ignorance. They do not appreciate that He was and is the light of the world that has overcome the darkness of sin for us all.

You have the chance to rub elbows with this celebrity on a regular basis. He comes to us in Word and Water and Bread and Wine. He promised to be with us to the very end of the age. It is not a chance encounter, but a life-long relationship. Everyone needs to be told who Jesus is.

Here’s what you need to remember: Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11

I pray that is your joyful certainty and conviction as well. Merry fifth day of Christmas.